Get NASA into the political debate!!

[qso1]

Phaze:<br />I'd think a manned mission to Mars would be pretty captivating to an 11 yr old.<br /><br />Me:<br />I agree, after all...I was 12 when I was captivated by Apollo 8. But even then I was considered a nerd by my Jr High peers for being interested in space. Its a matter of numbers and in todays world where human spaceflight is often put down. There will certainly be those who are captivated by it, but how many? Enough to influence future decision makers? One can only hope.<br /><br />Phaze:<br />Maybe we could send 50 or 100 or even 1000 probes to study solar flares, etc.. and generate a lot more scientific value for the $, BUT those types of missions (combined) will never create the attention and interest of a single mission to Mars.<br /><br />Me:<br />Again, I agree. In fact, if I were in charge of sending humans to mars...I'd be doing so on the scientific quest for finding life. Finding out if a second Genesis occured independantly on another world. A quest for the ages in its scientific...and public imagination capture appeal.<br /><br />I definetely think its time...indeed, past time to send humans to mars. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

Call me...not surprised. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[halman]

qso1,<br /><br />What will be surprising to me is if no trace of life is found on Mars. Our experience here on Terra is that life is everywhere, even in the most inhospitable conditions imaginable. Thriving on sulfur escaping from volcanic vents on the sea floor, or reproducing in water with a ph rating of 2.5 in the Berkley Pit. Life seems to be ubiquitous here, which indicates to me that the same will hold true most other places, in spite of conditions which would preclude life that we are familiar with. But the life that we are most likely to encounter will be single-celled organisms, not anything that would notice that we are there.<br /><br />There is no doubt in my mind that we are not alone in the Cosmos, but we probably are fairly rare, being an organism made up of many different kinds of cells. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> The secret to peace of mind is a short attention span. </div>

 

[j05h]

<i>> There is no doubt in my mind that we are not alone in the Cosmos, but we probably are fairly rare, being an organism made up of many different kinds of cells.</i><br /><br />in bio-mass terms, complex multicellular life is rare on Earth. We are icing on the cake.<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[arkady]

Edit:<br /><br /><note to self: read before you post. /><br /><br />You may proceed. <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "<font color="#0000ff"><em>The choice is the Universe, or nothing</em> ... </font>" - H.G Wells </div>

 

[qso1]

That would surprise me as well. However, it would take a really long time and lots of probing to be able to say there is no life on mars. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

Well put. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>